Flying Pterosaurs

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Flying Pterosaurs

Artwork by Mauricio Anton/Science Photo Library

Pterosaurs, like these depicted gliding near an ancient sea, first arose during the Triassic period about 215 million years ago. They endured for 150 million years, colonizing every continent and evolving into more than 120 species. They died out along with the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous.